Thursday, January 31, 2008

Thoughts On The Lost Season Premiere

Okay, just a quick rundown of my history with Lost so you know where I'm coming from. Like everyone else in the world I flipped out over the pilot, immersed myself in most of the first season, wouldn't stop telling my friends about it, discussed theories about it, the whole nine. By the end of the first season I'd begin to notice bad patterns in the storytelling, irritating characters, the utter tedium of 90% of the flashback scenes, and like everyone else in the world I thought the first season finale was a total letdown. The frustrations built all the way through Season 2, and while Season 3 brought with it my favorite character yet (Elizabeth Mitchell's Juliet), the first half of that season was riddles enough with the same old problems that I almost stopped watching. Lucky I didn't, though, because the last few episodes of last season really came together and the flash-forward really hooked me anew.

So anyway, after tonight's new episode, it seems in re-upping with the show I've also started from zero in terms of cutting the show slack. The vagueness of the flash-forwards, the incremental unfolding of new mysteries, asking way more questions than answers are being provided...these are all problems I'd developed with the show two seasons ago, but I'm willing to let it ride, for now.

The biggest and best change is the switch from flashbacks to flash-forwards. The flashbacks were perhaps my #1 annoyance with the show -- 33% of any given show preoccupied with meandering, thematically redundant backstory that was usually twice as tedious as it was informative -- and now they're gone. At least, that's what seems to be the case. God, I hope so. The complaint I've heard about this is that it takes some of the suspense away if we know that Jack, Kate, Hurley (among others) survive long enough to make it off the island. But seriously, if they're still keeping Dominic Monaghan in the main cast, who really expects them to get rid of any of the primaries anyway? The flash-forwards give the story another entire universe in which to maneuver, and I love that.

Not that I was 100% down with the premiere. This new group of people, the "rescuers" for lack of a better word, feel like yet another layer of shadowy antagonists (the Tailies, the Others, the Dharma Initiative) to put upon the ol' Lostaways, and it's yet another game of "Who can you trust?" One more group of people who you assume are always lying, except when they're not. The differentiation between these guys and the Others is going to have to be made crystal clear, and soon.

That being said, and it sounds contradictory, but I do like the idea of Locke at cross-purposes with the rest of the group, even though it splinters the agendas all the more, and I really liked the idea of the Lostaways choosing between Locke and Jack for reasons we may not fully understand.

I could sit and watch Ben give Jack shit about being stupid all fucking day, I'll tell you that. It only took me, like, fifteen minutes and one incredibly condescending comment to Kate to remind me why I hate Jack's ass.

Jorge Garcia's great and all, but that "He's dead!" line reading was rough.

I watched the hourlong clip show before the premiere, and when they played back the scene where Locke hears the elusive (and possibly supernatural) "Jacob" speak, the voice sounds an awful lot like Clancy Brown (who has played "Inman" in two previous episodes). Perhaps it was just my brain set on Carnivale with the whole "unseen puppet master" thing, but...we'll see what comes of it.

Kate remains my favorite of the much maligned (by, uh, me) Big Three (we've covered my hatred of Jack, but Sawyer's an insufferable butt too) by virtue of her little walkie talkie heist and not letting Jack pat her on the head and tell her to shut up. Liked that.

What else, what else...oh, Harold Perrineau (Michael) is back in the credits but not (that I saw) Malcolm David Kelly (Walt). Will we never find out the whole story about how he created that polar bear out of thin air??? (I'm kidding, I actually don't care.)

Overall: happy to have it back. Sucks that it's only for eight episodes.

Recently Viewed

Mission: Impossible - Ghost ProtocolThis was deeply stupid but a LOT of fun. It made me forget how creeped out I am by Tom Cruise, it nailed set piece after set piece, and it took the "A Really Great Episode of Alias" level of M:I 3 to the next step of being "A Really Great Alias Movie." In a year when so many movies just would not stop telling us about the magic of the movies and how films could let us see the impossible, Brad Bird stepped up to the plate and actually showed us. That sequence in Dubai is going to be tough for action movies to top for a long while. And I would honestly nominate it for Costume Design because every single person in that cast looked the most fuckable they ever have, and that's saying something. Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton, nice work. B / B+

The Girl with the Dragon TattooZodiac meets Seven without the latter's audacity nor the former's studiousness. OR ... the best season of The Killing ever. As a story, it's a smidge too obvious, and I seriously do think it's episodic enough to have been made into a TV series. And I don't want to get into a Gender Studies thing about Lisbeth -- and I could totally entertain ideas to the contrary -- but to me she was pure male fantasy, if a particularly badass male fantasy. Viewed in that light, the rape scene is less bracingly necessary than luridly opportunistic. But I'm not trying to say I was deeply offended by the movie or anything. It's a fun procedural with compelling actors in the lead roles (how does Daniel Craig's insane sexiness continue to sneak up on me?). Obvious casting in the supporting roles is a drawback, but overall, it was far easier for me to look past the story and appreciate Fincher's frigid aesthetics (that ever-present howling wind!) here than it was in The Social Network. B-

MargaretHere's where 2012 Joe apologizes to 2006 Joe, because I know how frustrating it is to live in the parts of America that just don't get limited-release indie movies that we get in New York. Because I complained and complained about not getting to see Margaret, and ultimately, it was put back into theaters and I got to take advantage of my incredibly fortunate geography to see it. Of course, after weeks and weeks of #teamMargaret, I was worried I'd been oversold on the movie, that I would walk out not getting what all the fuss was about. I'm happy to say I DO get what the fuss was about. It's not a perfect movie, but it packs a punch. The moment that drives the film -- a first-act bus accident that costs Allison Janney her life -- is legitimately harrowing, and it makes total sense that this would be traumatic enough to drive the plot of this sprawling tale (and to stand in for 9/11 when the movie's allegorical needs make it necessary). Anna Paquin's performance as a girl whose self-centeredness is almost feral is a marvel (and it connects a lot of dots for the way she's been playing Sookie on True Blood, to be honest). And the supporting cast is full of great performances and teen actors who would go on to become A Thing in the five years since this movie was made. Believe the hype about Jeannie Berlin's performance, too. She doesn't show up until halfway through, but her every line reading (which range from hilarious to scathing) is a winner, and she and Paquin make for one of the more fascinating screen duos in recent history. Lonergan has significant pacing issues in the latter half -- and my ass he couldn't find any scenes to cut; there are whole subplots and characters (Jean Reno; Matt Damon) who could have been trimmed and/or set aside for a director's cut -- but the script and the actors rarely step wrong. Here is a movie that bites off a lot of big ideas, about responsibility, about the limits of hanging meaning on the meaningless, and how Upper West Side teens can be just as monstrous and insufferable as their east-side counterparts. Also, if every five years we could get a new movie starring the 2005 version of Matt Damon, that would be just fine. Yum. B+

PariahThere's going to be a danger of overpraising this low-budget indie for being a low-budget indie, and for being about the kinds of characters and environments you don't usually get, even in low-budget indies. When it comes to black, teenage lesbians in lower-middle-class families in non-hipster Brooklyn, we're not exactly spoiled for choice, so for that alone, Pariah SHOULD be celebrated. And it's a very good movie, on its own terms. Adpero Oduye makes for a magnetic and fascinating lead, and the movie lets her life be about a lot of different things at once. Teen movies have a particular tendency to reduce their characters' pressures to just one thing, but Oduye has to deal with coming out and fears over her parents' crumbling marriage, and strained best-friend relationships, and a lot more. It's not a perfect movie -- some of the dialogue feels heavy and scripted, and I don't think Kim Wayans is all that great as the mom. But overall, it's really solid (and not nearly the suffocating bummer I've heard it described as). B

ShameIt's maybe ever-so-slightly more an acting showcase for Michael Fassbender than a cinematic masterpiece, but who's going to complain about settling for very, very good? McQueen digs deep into Fassbender's sex addict character in a way that's explicit but not salacious, and ultimately the joke's on us, because he really puts us into the mindset of a tormented guy unable to forge any kind of human connections. It's quite something. I could go on for about 10 more lines worth of prurient concerns (honestly, Fassbender is 30% penis by volume, I'd swear to it), and one fairly story-based quibble (McQueen really pusses out at the gay club), but for the most part, it's a total must-see. B+

The Week in TV:

Fringe (5/6)I have to say, this left me largely unsatisfied. Not the part about Peter at the end -- I'm confident that's going to get resolved in a way that'll open up season 4 in a big way. But that's actually part of my real problem: this whole episode didn't feel like a conclusion to everything Season 3 has built to but rather a beginning for the next arc. But without satisfyingly resolving what had been built up this season. Like we got an epilogue and a springboard into the next chapter without the actual climax. So much of this episode was spent trying to unbox everything we were presented in the flash-forward that by the time the actual action went down, we had less than 10 minutes to advance the plot in any real way. Still love the show, still think Anna Torv has had a breakthrough season, but this was a definite letdown.

Parks and Recreation (5/5)How does this show do it? What for all intents and purposes seemed like a purely goofy, guest-star-driven episode with Parker Posey as Leslie's rich-town nemesis (with a b-story about Ron Swanson desperately trying to avoid a birthday celebration in his honor) managed to arrive at no fewer than three emotional high-points. Not one of them felt like cheap sentiment, either, they were completely earned and true to the characters. That Leslie/Ron birthday scene was set up so slyly, it was like the twist ending of a thriller. This is what a show can do when it's built on such a strong foundation of characters. Well fucking done.

30 Rock (5/5)What a weird episode, with a random Kenneth moment at the end that I'd almost buy as an actual plot point considering how well it's supported by several seasons of "Kenneth is ageless" jokes. Liz being tormented by Tracy was funny, if honestly sad, and Jenna works best when opposite Will Forte. But really, this was all about Victor Garber, for me. Kudos to the show for nabbing such a great guest star for such a fun role -- I don't know why "wool" is so comedy-friendly a concept, but it just is. It's very wool.RuPaul's Drag Race (5/2)Not as explosive as past seasons' reunions -- the Shangela-Raven feud seems to be at least nominally active, but neither seemed all that invested in propagating it. ...Well, Shangela was, kind of. But besides one more tired rehash of the Heather vs. Boogers battle (my stance: the Heathers were throwing shade like good queens should; the Boogers took it personally because they're insecure and not seasoned; advantage: Heathers), and Alexis Mateo made a lame attempt to shame Michelle Visage for actually judging her, but mostly it was just a rehash of the season's big moments. The big story for me was confirmation that my love for Mariah was not misguided. She may have been eliminated for fully supportable reasons (she didn't have the chops when it came to performance), but she showed up with a killer face and a sparkling attitude. See you on Drag U, girl!

Game of Thrones (5/1)Damn it, Game of Thrones! You got me hooked last week with that sweet scene of Jon Snow gifting his lil' sister with a sword. Why won't you just let me love you?? This week's episode took two steps forward (Catelyn continues to be a character worth cheering for; Jaime Lannister suddenly has layers beyond the clichéd sister-fucking), but then two steps back with even more tedious political hoo-ha, more indistinguishable characters, and more of Joffrey and Vinerys, possibly the most one-dimensional characters on television. On the bright side, I really think that child-bride sex slave and her hulking rape-monster of a husband are gonna make it!